Group M agency MEC has announced the addition of Joe Kowan to its team as practice lead, digital trading and activation, starting this month.

Kowan will report to Susan Schiekofer, president of digital for MEC, North America and Ari Bluman, chief digital investment officer, GroupM, North America. In the new role, Kowan will be responsible for working with MEC client teams to leverage digital spending and deliver plans with the greatest benefits.

Before joining MEC, Kowan worked as VP, business development at Legolas Media Inc. and has also previously worked for fellow Group M agency MediaCom as its director of media systems and technology.

“Joe is an accomplished professional with a unique background, having expertise in leveraging digital spend on behalf of clients, best use of advertising technology to deliver results as well as agency operations for ease of delivery of product,” said Schiekofer  in an agency release. “His varied expertise in digital will prove to be invaluable for our team and we look forward to his innovative solutions for our clients and agency partners.”